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Education Law § 6441 · Article 129-B. Implementation By Colleges and Universities of Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence and Stalking Prevention and Response Policies and Procedures

Affirmative consent to sexual activity

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — Law content up to date as of October 2, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)

§ 6441. Affirmative consent to sexual activity. 1. Every institution shall adopt the following definition of affirmative consent as part of its code of conduct: "Affirmative consent is a knowing, voluntary, and mutual decision among all participants to engage in sexual activity. Consent can be given by words or actions, as long as those words or actions create clear permission regarding willingness to engage in the sexual activity. Silence or lack of resistance, in and of itself, does not demonstrate consent. The definition of consent does not vary based upon a participant's sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression."

2. Each institution's code of conduct shall reflect the following principles as guidance for the institution's community:

a. Consent to any sexual act or prior consensual sexual activity between or with any party does not necessarily constitute consent to any other sexual act.

b. Consent is required regardless of whether the person initiating the act is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

c. Consent may be initially given but withdrawn at any time.

d. Consent cannot be given when a person is incapacitated, which occurs when an individual lacks the ability to knowingly choose to participate in sexual activity. Incapacitation may be caused by the lack of consciousness or being asleep, being involuntarily restrained, or if an individual otherwise cannot consent. Depending on the degree of intoxication, someone who is under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicants may be incapacitated and therefore unable to consent.

e. Consent cannot be given when it is the result of any coercion, intimidation, force, or threat of harm.

f. When consent is withdrawn or can no longer be given, sexual activity must stop.

Source of truth

Edition
Law content up to date as of October 2, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
Official file
https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/EDN6441
Text hash
sha256 5f90a9699b068c6121ad418d4a0f499fdd58a65a4e42dbd22e09967e2e02801a
Composed by
gen_ny_statutes.py 2026-11-10: the Senate's Open Legislation law tree (GET /api/3/laws/<ID>?full=true) read in document order; the Senate's PDF of the whole law (GET /pdf/laws/<ID>?full=true), read with PDFium, prints the same words in the same order

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.